Dental floss dispenser



'May 8, 1923.

F. G. DRESSER DENTAL FLOSS DISPENSER Filed NOV, 25. 1922 ma? cmo/m Patented May 8, 1923.

uur: En sr FRANK1G: IJIRJEISSER",' 01?L PBOVILDEINCE',l RHODE ISLAND.

DENTAL rnoss D'rsrnnsnn.

Appiica'ionv mee November 25, 1922. serial no. 603,239.'

lowing is a specification.

Thisinvention* relates to devices for holding and dlspensing'dental floss; A; great' variety of articles' ofA this character have been devisedheretofore, but those of which` I have been able to learn apparently have been constructed with the-sole idea of revery unsatisfactory to'ii'se'.v y ticularly.- objectionablev in that the dental flosseb'reakslnside the container' or casing open the casi-ng and unsnarl or unwind a length of the floss.

The* present invention aims to deviseY a i dental liossdisp'enser which, while capable lof' substantial construction, will be convenient to use, and will be entirely reliable in operation.-

` The nature ofthe' invntio'n will'bev readily understood from the follwing"description when readin connection with the accomwill be particularly pointed out' in the appended claims. y eferrin'g now to thedrawings,

Figure 1 yis an explodedl perspective View of al device embodying the invention in lthe formv at present preferred;

Fig. 2 is afperspectiveview of the device when assembled and ready to use;

. Fig.- 3vis afvertical cross sectional view of the device shown in F ig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a cross vsectional view through the cutter with which the device is equipped.

The dispensing device shown comprises a case consisting of two parts, designated at 2 and 3, respectively, each part consisting `ot a circular disk-shaped end with a peripheral Hange extending therefrom. These two flanges are designed to telescope one within the other, as clearly shown in the drawings; and the flange of the part 3 carries two pins, one of which is shown at 4l, which are designed to engage with the walls of angular slots 5 5 in the part 2 to form a bayonet ducing themanufacturing-cost to the lowest*1 degreevpossible. Thefresult isthat` they are- Consequently, They, are parvery frequently, thus .making itA necessary yto of' being vmanufactured economically; will `be partying drawings, and ythenovel features:`

joint connection securing these" partsjtosettler: LL

The supply of dental floss F is wound on a. reel 6 which is rotatably supported on a pin 7 fixed in the part3. It'.` is-desirable to preventv this reel frorn'rotatinfgto'o freely asA the `liess ils-unwound from'it, and forthis purpose thel reel hasta'v central recess'-By formed therein, and aj COiledspring 9 secured Vtothe part 2f`by'a' screw lQ'be'ars on the bottom ofthe recess'S; Itrwill befnoted that the part13ofth'e case-has' acentra'lenlargement 12 against' which the free-l is pressed by the spring 9*,bu't'I that' the 'reel' does not' touch theA part 3 at anyjother point'.

by the spring 9l is confined tothe centrall portion of the reel and variations in thefriction exerted' on the reel,'\thereifore, do not' vproduce nearly'as great `variations in totalv reslsta-nce to"l the rotation ofthe reel as vthe braking action` produced y would? be produced ittheffri-ctional drag -were appliedat" pointsnearer the periphery' of the reel.l In-other words, thisarrangement produces a-sub'stantially' constant fric'- tional resistanceto'the rota-tion of the reel.'

The flangeog the part Schals' a slotlt` formed therein through which the strand of floss is drawn whenthec'ase is closed. For

the purpose of facilitatingthe cutting off or.

breaking of the strand rwhen' the 'desired length has been dra-wn from the ree`l,'the7 y case is provided with 'a' cutter, the' -construction of vwhich is bestshown in Fig.` 4. This cutter comprises a kniievo'r blade 15.prefer ably consisting-of a smalllstud ofto'ol steel set into the cover 3,`the lower vend of thisn-` stud being circular in cross section so that'it will' lit intoafholel-drilled in thev cover. The outeren'd isa'reduced'to fit in a slot iformed in a short bar 16 Vwhich issecured'to the.

lcover by a screw 17 but is held away from the cover by a spacing collar 18. A knife edge is formed on the part 15 in the space exposed between the parts 3 and 16. A serviceable cutter thus is provided, the blade of which can readily be removed and replaced by a new one or sharpened whenever desired.

In loading the device a reel filled with floss is placed on the stud 7, and the flange of the casing member 3 is then telescoped within the flange of the opposite member 2 and given a partial rotation to lock the pins 4 within the slots 5. This operation prop# erly seats the spring 9 within the recess 8 in the reel. lt will be observed that the portions of the slot 5 within which the pins l rest at this time are slightly curved or depressed to receive the pins, and that the spring 9, due to its tendency to force the parts 2 and 3 away from each other, tends to hold the pins in these portions of the slots, and therefore resists the relative rotative movement of the parts 2 and 3 which is necessary in order to unloclr them for the purpose of opening the case. While the parts are being assembled in the manner just described, the strand of floss should be drawn through the slot hl.

When it is desired to use a piece of floss the desired length is drawn off and pulled across the cutter, as clearly shown in F ig. 2. A slight pull severs the floss leaving an end still projecting from the case. The braking action exerted on the reel by the spring') is sufiicient to keep it from rotating too freely, but is not great enough to cause any danger of breaking the floss as it is drawn from the casing. Consequently, there is no danger of the floss becoming broken or snarled inside the casing. j

While the device has been herein shown as made of unusually heavy parts, such as would be turned out on a lathe or by automatic screw machinery, it will be appreciated that an article sufficiently sturdy and substantial for most purposes can be made by the punch and die process, only minor modifications in the structure shown being necessary for this purpose. lt can also be made from celluloid or the like.

Having thus described my invention7 what I desire to claim as new is:

l. A dental floss dispenser comprising a closed case consisting of two telescoping parts having a bayonet joint connection with each other, a reel enclosed in said case and adapted to hold a supply of dental floss, said reel being centrally recessed, and a coiled spring carried by one of said casing parts and bearing on the bottom of said recess. v A dental floss dispenser.comprising a closed case consisting of two parts, each part including a circular disk-shaped end portion with a peripheral flange extending therefrom, said flanges telescoping with eacn other and having cooperating parts to seccure them together, a pin projecting inwardly fromv the central portion of one of said disks, a reel rotatably mounted on said pin and having a recess in one face thereof, said reel being adapted to hold a supply of dental floss, and a coiled spring carried by one of said casing members and bearing on the bottom of said recess, one of said casing members having a slot therein through which the dental floss wound on said reel may be drawn.

3. A dental floss dispenser comprising a closed case consisting yof two parts, each part including` a circular disk-shaped end portion with a peripheral Hangs extending therefrom, said flanges being constructed to telescope with each other and having cooperating parts to secure them together, a pin projecting inwardly from the central portion of one of said dislzs, a boss formed on said dislr adjacent to said pin, a' reel rotatably mounted on said pin and bearing against said boss, said reel being adapted to hold asupply of dental floss and having a recess in the face thereof` opposite the boss on one of said casing members, and a coiled spring carried by the opposite casing member and arranged to bear on the bottom of said recess.

4. A dental floss dispenser comprising a closed case consisting of two parts, each part including a circular disk-shaped end portion with a peripheral flange extending therefrom, said flangesbeing constructed to telescope with each other and having cooperating parts to secure them together, a reel mounted to rotate in said case and adapted to hold a supply of dental floss, means for resisting the free rotation of said reel, one 1 of the parts of said case having a slot therein through whichv the dental floss may be drawn, a blade l5 seated in the disk of one of said casing parts, a bar 16 bearing on the outer end of said blade, and a screw 1T for securing said bar to the casing member and clan'iping said bar on said blade.

FRAN (l. DRESSER. 

